Identifying and using identities deemed to be known to a user

ABSTRACT

The people a user is presumed to know or be associated with may be determined using a number of techniques. For example, people a user knows may be inferred based on a combination of two or more user actions, each of which separately support an inference that the person is associated with the user. This information about people that the user knows is used in relation to the user&#39;s communications.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

[0001] This application claims priority under 35 USC §119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/457,320, filed on Mar. 26,2003, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/488,376,filed on Jul. 21, 2003, both of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This description relates to network communications.

BACKGROUND

[0003] With the advent of the Internet and a decline in computer prices,many people are communicating with one another through computersinterconnected by networks. A number of different communication mediumshave been developed to facilitate such communications between computerusers.

SUMMARY

[0004] Generally, a list of people associated with a user is maintained.An inference that a person is associated with the user is made based, atleast in part, on a combination of two or more user actions, each ofwhich separately support an inference that the person is associated withthe user. The inferred person is added to the list and the list is usedto control aspects of communications between the user and others basedon whether the others are included on the list.

[0005] Implementations may include one or more of the followingfeatures. Inferring may include detecting positive user actions relatedto e-mail communications from the person as at least one of the two ormore actions. The positive actions may include sending an e-mail to theperson; replying to, forwarding, saving, or printing an e-mail receivedfrom the person; moving an e-mail from a first folder to a secondfolder; or maintaining an e-mail from the person in an open state for apredetermined period of time. When the positive actions includes movingan e-mail from a first folder to a second folder, the first folder maybe an inbox folder and the second folder may be a folder other than adelete folder or a spam folder.

[0006] Inferring may include detecting user actions that mitigateagainst factors that otherwise are used to infer a person is associatedwith the user. The user actions may include the user taking steps toreport a communication from the person as spam; the user taking steps toadd a person to a blacklist; or the user taking steps to move acommunication from the person to at least one of a spam folder or adelete folder.

[0007] Inferring may include detecting the two or more actions; anddetermining whether the two or more actions are a combination of actionsthat is designated as indicating that the person is known to the user.

[0008] Inferring may include detecting a communication between the userand the person as at least one of the two or more actions. Thecommunication may be an instant messaging communication.

[0009] An inference that a person is associated with the user may bemade based, at least in part, on indicia other than actions performed bythe user. Inferring based on indicia other than actions performed by theuser may include accessing a contact list of the user to determine afirst contact on the user's contact list; and accessing a contact listof the first contact to determine a second contact on the firstcontact's contact list.

[0010] The people associated with the user may be people not distrustedby the user the people associated with the user may be people known tothe user.

[0011] Using the list may include using the list as a white list suchthat communications received from people on the list are exempt fromspam filtering. Using the list may include using the list to restrictreceived communications to those communications from people on the list.The communications may be e-mails or instant messages.

[0012] Using the list may include using the list to filter a display ofe-mail such that e-mails from people on the list are shown on thedisplay and e-mails from people not on the list are absent from thedisplay. Using the list may include using the list to filter a displayof e-mail such that e-mails from people not on the list are shown on thedisplay and e-mails from people on the list are absent from the display.Using the list may include using the list to restrict which instantmessaging interfaces display an online presence of the user to thoseinstant messaging interfaces associated with people on the list.

[0013] Using the list comprises using the list as a white list operatingin conjunction with parental controls to filter communications frompeople not on the list when the communications include indicia that thecontent of the communication is inappropriate for a teen or childaccount user. Filtering communications may include blocking thecommunications from people not on the list when the communicationsinclude indicia that the content of the communication is inappropriatefor a teen or child account user. Filtering communications may includeplacing communications from people not on the list in a spam folder thecommunications include indicia that the content of the communication isinappropriate for a teen or child account user. The spam folder may belocked from the teen or child account user.

[0014] Each of the two or more actions may have an associated score andinferring may include detecting the two or more actions; determining anaggregate score from the scores associated with the two or more actions;and comparing the aggregate score to a threshold score to infer whetherthe person is known to the user. The scores associated with the two ormore actions may include positive scores for actions that support aninference that the person is known to the user and negative scores foractions that negate an inference that the person is known to the user.

[0015] Implementations of the described techniques may include hardware,a method or process, or computer software on a computer-accessiblemedium.

[0016] The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary networked computingenvironment.

[0018]FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process for maintaining and usinga list of known people.

[0019]FIG. 3 is an illustration showing an interface for manuallyspecifying white and black lists.

[0020]FIG. 4 is an illustration showing an interface for an addressbook.

[0021]FIG. 5 is an illustration showing an interface for an instantmessaging client program.

[0022]FIG. 6 is an illustration showing an interface for reading e-mailmessages.

[0023]FIG. 7 is an illustration showing an interface for writing e-mailmessages.

[0024]FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing a process for inferring contacts ofother users as known.

[0025]FIGS. 9, 10, and 11 are illustrations showing an interface formanaging e-mail messages.

[0026]FIG. 12 is an illustration showing an interface for setting andmodifying mail and spam controls.

[0027]FIGS. 13-15 are illustrations showing environments in which onlinepresence information can be restricted using the list of known people.

[0028]FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a process for filteringcommunications sent to a teen or child account.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The people a user is presumed to know or be associated with maybe determined using a number of techniques. The user may specify thepeople known to him manually, for example, by making manual changes toan address book, buddy list, or white list. Alternatively, oradditionally, the people known to a user may be inferred by monitoringthe actions of the user. For example, people to whom the user sendse-mail may be considered as known to the user. Likewise, saving amessage from a person may signal that the user knows that person.

[0030] This information about people that the user knows is used inrelation to the user's communications. For example, a display of e-mailmay only show the user e-mails from people on the list of known people.The names on the list also may be added to a white list, whereby thelist of known people may be used to restrict accepted e-mail to onlythose people the user knows or otherwise. The list also may be used torestrict instant messages or chat request to only those people who theuser knows. In addition, the list may be used to restrict access to auser's presence, such that access to presence may be provided only tothose people that the user knows.

[0031] Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary networked computing environment100 supports communications between computer users. Computer users aredistributed geographically and communicate using client systems 102. Anetwork 104 interconnects client systems 102. Client systems 102 areconnected to network 104 through various communication mediums, such asa modem connected to a telephone line (using, for example, serial lineinternet protocol (SLIP) or point-to-point protocol (PPP)) or a directinternetwork connection (using, for example, transmission controlprotocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP)).

[0032] Each of the client systems 102 may be implemented using, forexample, a general-purpose computer capable of responding to andexecuting instructions in a defined manner, a personal computer, aspecial-purpose computer, a workstation, a server, a device, acomponent, or other equipment or some combination thereof capable ofresponding to and executing instructions. Client systems 102 may receiveinstructions from, for example, a software application, a program, apiece of code, a device, a computer, a computer system, or a combinationthereof, which independently or collectively direct operations, asdescribed herein. These instructions may take the form of one or morecommunications programs that facilitate communications between the usersof client systems 102. For instance, such communications programs mayinclude e-mail programs, instant messaging (IM) programs, file transferprotocol (FTP) programs, and voice over internet protocol (VoIP)programs. The instructions may be embodied permanently or temporarily inany type of machine, component, equipment, storage medium, or propagatedsignal that is capable of being delivered to the client systems 102.

[0033] Client systems 102 include a communications interface (not shown)used by the communications programs to send communications throughnetwork 104. The communications may include e-mail, audio data, videodata, general binary data, or text data (e.g., encoded in AmericanStandard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format). Clientsystems also include one or more input devices, such as a keyboard,mouse, stylus, or microphone, as well as one or more output devices,such as a monitor, touch screen, speakers, or a printer.

[0034] The network 104 typically includes a series of portalsinterconnected through a coherent system. Examples of the network 104include the Internet, Wide Area Networks (WANs), Local Area Networks(LANs), analog or digital wired and wireless telephone networks (e.g. aPublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)), an Integrated ServicesDigital Network (ISDN), or a Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)), or anyother wired or wireless network. The network 104 may include multiplenetworks or subnetworks, each of which may include, for example, a wiredor wireless data pathway.

[0035] A host server 106 also may be connected to network 104 and may beused to facilitate some direct or indirect communications between theclient systems 102. As with the client systems 102, host server 106 maybe implemented using, for example, a general-purpose computer capable ofresponding to and executing instructions in a defined manner, a personalcomputer, a special-purpose computer, a workstation, a server, a device,a component, or other equipment or some combination thereof capable ofresponding to and executing instructions. Host server 106 may receiveinstructions from, for example, a software application, a program, apiece of code, a device, a computer, a computer system, or a combinationthereof, which independently or collectively direct operations, asdescribed herein. These instructions may take the form of one or morecommunications programs. For instance, such communications programs mayinclude e-mail programs, IM programs, FTP programs, VoIP programs, etc.The instructions may be embodied permanently or temporarily in any typeof machine, component, equipment, storage medium, or propagated signalthat is capable of being delivered to the host server 106.

[0036] Further, host server 106 includes a communications interface (notshown) used by the communications programs to send communicationsthrough network 104. The communications may include e-mail, audio data,video data, general binary data, or text data (e.g., encoded in AmericanStandard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format).

[0037] Each client system 102 has one or more associated users, and auser of a client system 102 may desire to have aspects of his or hercommunications with other users controlled based on whether the otherusers are known. In order to facilitate such control, a list ismaintained. The list contains the people the user is presumed to know.The list may be maintained on a client system 102, host server 106, oranother device connected to network 104.

[0038] The term “people” is used throughout to refer to the entitieswith which communication occurs. However, communication can occur withentities that are not individual human beings. Communications can occurwith a company, an organization, or a system that is not itself a humanbeing. For example, e-mail can be sent to the technical support group ata computer software company. The term “people” is used throughout tomore generally refer to all entities with which communications canoccur, including entities that are not natural people. In addition, when“people” are described as known, it means that at least one of thevarious communication identifiers associated with them are known,whether or not the people/entities themselves are actually known.

[0039] A communication identifier is an identifier of the “person” usedto communicate with the “person.” Communication identifiers can be, forexample, an address, such as an e-mail address, a screen name, or aninternet protocol (IP) address, or it can be a number, such as atelephone number or a VoIP number. In one implementation, thesecommunication identifiers are stored in the list of known people.Storing the communication identifier in the list facilitates easyrecognition of communications from a known person, thereby facilitatingcontrol over aspects of such communications based on whether the senderis known. Thus, the term “people” or “person” should be understood ashaving a meaning that includes any identifier of a person ororganization.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 2, a process 200 is used to maintain and usethe list of people known to the user. A list of people known to the useris stored (202). Communication identifiers are stored in the list toindicate the known people.

[0041] The user can make manual additions to the list of known people(210). To that end, the user is enabled to expressly designatecommunication identifiers as known (212). For example, a graphical userinterface (GUI) that allows the user to enter communication identifiersmay be provided. There may also be a speech-based interface that allowsthe user to add communications identifiers to the list of known peopleby saying them. These interfaces may allow the user to augment the listof known people indirectly by allowing them to make additions to acontact list such as, for example, a custom sender list, an addressbook, or a buddy list.

[0042] However, the user may want to manually add a person to a contactlist but not to the list of known people. An interface optionally may bepresented to enable the user to confirm that the manually enteredcommunication identifiers should be added to the list of known people(214). The confirmation may be enabled by way of a GUI that allows theuser to select the entered communication identifiers that the useractually wants to be included in the list of known people. Thisconfirmation may occur after a predetermined number of communicationidentifiers have been entered, or at login or logoff to seekconfirmation of any people entered during the previous online session.Those identifiers that the user confirms then are added to the list(216). When a confirmation interface is not presented, all enteredcommunication identifiers are added to the list of known people.Alternatively, there may be an interface that allows the user todirectly enter identifiers into the list of known people.

[0043] On the other hand, communication identifiers may be inferred asbeing known based on the actions of the user (220). First, thecommunication identifiers known to the user are inferred (222). Forexample, a communication identifier may be inferred as known if ane-mail message to that communication identifier is sent. When an instantmessaging program is used, the communication identifier of the personwith whom the user is communicating may be designated as known to theuser.

[0044] Known communication identifiers may be inferred based on userinteractions with a received message. For example, a communicationidentifier also may be inferred as known if a message from thatcommunication identifier is read, replied to, forwarded, saved, orprinted. Likewise, the communication identifier that sent the e-mailmessage may be designated as known if the message is moved from the“inbox” to a folder that is not marked for deletion or for spam, or ifthe message is left open for a predetermined amount of time.

[0045] Known communication identifiers also may be inferred based onindicia other than user actions. As an example, the people designated asknown to the people the user knows may be designated as being “known” tothe user. For instance, if a person B is designated as someone user Aknows, then the people designated as known to person B also may bedesignated as “known” to user A. One way this may be implemented is, forexample, to designate the people in an address book and/or buddy list ofperson B as known to user A.

[0046] When inferring known people, some actions may be taken intoaccount to negate an inference that the person is known (224). Forinstance, if an e-mail received from a person is forwarded to an e-mailaddress that has been designated for reporting spam, then the inferencethat the user knows the person may be negated. As another example, aninference that a person is known may be negated if the person isincluded on an explicit black list of people with which communicationshould not occur, created by the user or the network administrator.

[0047] After known communication identifiers are inferred, an interfaceoptionally may be presented to enable the user to confirm that theinferred communication identifiers are in fact known (226). Theconfirmation may be enabled by way of a GUI that allows the user toselect inferred communication identifiers that the user actually knowsor wants to be included in the list of known people. This confirmationmay occur after a predetermined number of communication identifiers havebeen inferred as known, or at login or logoff to seek confirmation ofany people identified in the previous online session. Those identifiersthat the user confirms then are added to the list (228). When aconfirmation interface is not presented, the inferred identifiers areadded to the list.

[0048] Branches 210 and 220 may occur simultaneously or sequentially.After at least one of the branches has occurred, the user optionally mayview the list of known people, and he or she may delete those users thatare no longer known or needed (230). In addition, communicationidentifiers in the list of known people can be used optionally to findother communication identifiers for that person (232). For example, aperson's e-mail address may be obtained from a profile associated with ascreen name. Similarly, if the e-mail address is known, it may be usedto obtain the screen name. The screen name, e-mail, or other determinedcommunication identifiers may be used to determine other ways in whichthe known person may communicate with the user or in which the user maycommunicate with the known person.

[0049] At this point, the list can be used to control aspects of theelectronic communications between the user and other users based onwhether the communication identifiers of the other users are known orunknown (234). For example, in an e-mail system that performs spamfiltering, the e-mail addresses of known people may be added to a whitelist, which designates e-mail addresses that should not be filtered orotherwise treated as spam.

[0050] The e-mail addresses of the known people also may be used tofilter or sort a display of e-mail such that e-mails from people on thelist are shown more prominently than e-mails from people not on thelist. For instance, the user may be able to indicate that only e-mailsfrom known people are shown. In this case, only e-mails from people onthe list of known people are shown in the display of e-mail.Alternatively, or additionally, e-mails from known people may bedisplayed in bold, while e-mails from people not on the list are notdisplayed in bold. Another manner of displaying known people prominentlyincludes grouping all of the e-mail from known people in one position ofthe display, for example, at the beginning or at the end of a list ofe-mails.

[0051] The e-mail addresses of known people may be used to restrictaccepted e-mail to only those people the user knows. Similarly, the IMscreen names of known people may be used to restrict instant messages orchat requests to only those people who the user knows.

[0052] Further, the list of known people may be used to restrictdisplays of online presence information t those people on the list. Forexample, the IM screen names of known people may be used to restrict whocan view presence information of the user to those people the userknows. That is, other users may be restricted from viewing whether theuser is online unless the other users are people the user knows. Also,some services such as ICQ (which is an instant messaging service) andAmerica Online display online presence information through channelsother than an IM buddy list. Such displays of online presenceinformation also may be restricted, as described further below.

[0053] Additionally, by determining multiple communication identifiersas described above, aspects of the user's communication on multipledifferent messaging mediums can be controlled. For example, aspects ofthe user's communication using a combination of, for example, e-mail andinstant messaging clients can be controlled using the list of knownpeople.

[0054]FIGS. 3-5 show exemplary manners in which known people can beexpressly designated by putting them in a contact list. The contact listmay be, for example, a white list, an address book, or an instantmessaging buddy list. The people added to one or more of the contactlists then are added to the list of known people.

[0055] Referring to FIG. 3, a custom sender list interface 300 allowsfor manual addition of communication identifiers to the list of knownpeople through specification of a white list and a black list. A whitelist designates the e-mail addresses that should not be filtered suchthat e-mail messages from those addresses are delivered to the userwithout, e.g., subjecting the e-mails to spam filtering. On the otherhand, a black list designates the e-mail addresses that should befiltered such that e-mail messages from those addresses are treated asspam and are not shown to the user. The custom sender list interface 300enables the user to expressly designate communication identifiers asknown by adding them to the white list. The identifiers placed on thewhite list then are added to the list of known people.

[0056] Selecting radio button 302 signals specification of a black list,while selecting radio button 304 signals specification of a white list.Only one of radio buttons 302 and 304 may be selected at once. Acommunication identifier can be typed into the text field 306. Thecommunication identifier entered in the text field 306 can be added tothe black list or white list, depending on whether radio button 302 orradio button 304 is selected, by clicking on the “Add” button 308. Thisaction will add the entered communication identifier, along with allother previously entered communications identifiers, into the text box310.

[0057] A communication identifier can be selected from the listcontained in the text box 310 by clicking on the communicationidentifier. Subsequently clicking on a “Remove” button 312 willeliminate that communication identifier from the list. Any changes madeto the black list or the white list can be saved by clicking on a “Save”button 314, and any changes can be undone and discarded using a “Cancel”button 316.

[0058] Referring to FIG. 4, an address book interface 400 allows formanual addition of people to the list of known people through theaddition of entries to an address book. Each entry in the address bookcontains information about a specific person, including thecommunication identifiers for that person. The address book interface400 enables the user to expressly designate communication identifiers asknown by adding them to entries within the address book. Theseidentifiers are then added to the list of known people. The address bookinterface 400 may provide the user with an option for preventing theaddition of communication identifier to the list of known people whenthe identifier is added to the address book. The option may prevent theaddition for the identifier currently being added, or when the option isselected, may prevent all entered identifiers from being added to thelist of known people.

[0059] The address book interface 400 contains a contact list 406 inwhich the contacts in the address book are listed. All entries in aselected category and/or matching a current searching criteria arelisted by name in the contact list 406. The contact list 406 illustratedcontains three entries, entry 408 a for “Kevin Greene,” entry 408 b for“quoteomatic,” and entry 408 c for “zolaonaol.”

[0060] The address book interface 400 also contains a personalinformation list 410 for displaying the personal information for anentry in the address book. Selecting an entry from those listed in thecontact list 406 causes the information for the corresponding person tobe displayed in personal information list 410. For example, selectingentry 408 a for Kevin Greene lists his personal information in thepersonal information list 410. The personal information includes hiscontact name 412 (Kevin Greene), an e-mail address 414(kg@somewhere.com), and a category 416 (Uncategorized, which means theentry 408 a was never placed into a category). Other pieces ofinformation, including other communication identifiers, may be includedin the personal information list 410.

[0061] Address book interface 400 also includes buttons 418-422 foradding, deleting, and modifying entries in the address book. Entries maybe added to the address book by clicking on the “Add” button 418. Thiswill invoke a dialog box in which the necessary information for a newentry in the address book can be entered. Existing entries can also bemodified by selecting an entry from those listed in text box 406 andsubsequently clicking on the “Edit” button 420. This will invoke adialog box populated with information from the existing entry. Thisinformation can be changed, and information can be added to it. Finally,existing entries can be removed from the address book by selecting anentry from those listed in text box 406 and subsequently clicking on the“Delete” button 422. Any communication identifiers added to the addressbook through use of the address book interface 400 are considered to beknown, so they are added to the list of known people.

[0062] Entries in the address book may be filed into differentcategories. The address book interface enables the user to view allentries in a specific category; it also enables the user to view allentries in the address book, regardless of category. The availablecategories are listed in a drop down category selection box 402.Selecting a category name from the category selection box 402 willfilter the set of entries in the address book to include only thosebelonging to the selected category. Selecting “All” from the categoryselection box 402 will include all entries in the address book. The setof entries in the address book can be searched using the search text box404. The search criteria can be entered into the search text box 404.The set of entries is filtered to contain only those entries meeting thesearch criteria entered into the search text box 404. The illustratedentries are the total entries may in the address book because the option“All” was selected from the selection box 402, and no search criteriahave been entered into search text box 404. Thus the address book onlycontains the three entries listed in contact list 406.

[0063] Referring to FIG. 5, a buddy list interface 500 allows for manualaddition of people to the list of known people through addition ofscreen names to a buddy list. A screen name is a communicationidentifier for a person in an instant messaging system. Messages areaddressed to users of the instant messaging system using their screennames. The buddy list for a user of the instant messaging system is alist of screen names for people with which the user communicates. Thebuddy list interface 500 enables the user to expressly designatecommunication identifiers as known by adding them to his or her buddylist. These identifiers are then added to the list of known people.

[0064] The buddy list interface 500 contains a text box 502 thatcontains the buddy list for a screen name “InternetAnn”. The buddy listincludes multiple screen names. The buddy list in buddy list interface500 contains the screen name 504 a, “randomcontact2,” the screen name504 b, “Boss,” the screen name 504 c, “Mom,” the screen name 504 d,“Dad,” and the screen name 504 e, “Brother.”

[0065] The buddy list may be separated into one or more buddy groups,and each buddy may belong to one of the buddy groups. When an IM clientprogram for a person appearing in the buddy list is available to receivecommunications (i.e., a state commonly referred to as “present”), thescreen name of the buddy in the buddy list is displayed or visuallydistinguished from other buddies not presently available to receivecommunications or otherwise not having an equivalent state. In theinterface shown, present buddies have their screen names displayed undera buddy group heading for the buddy group to which they belong. Thebuddy group headings also contain the number of screen names from thatbuddy group currently logged into the instant messaging system and thetotal number of people in that buddy group. For example, the buddy groupheading 506 a says that one out of the ten members of the buddy groupnamed “Buddies” is logged into the system. That one member is the userwith screen name 504 a, since that screen name 504 a is listed under thebuddy group heading 506 a. Likewise, buddy group heading 506 b says thatone out of three members of the “Co-Workers” buddy group is logged in,and that member is the user with screen name 504 b. Similarly, the userswith the screen names 504 c, 504 d, and 504 e are logged into the systemand are members of the buddy group named “Family,” which only has onemember currently not logged in, according to buddy group heading 506 c.The buddy list interface 500 contains a “Setup” button 508, which, whenselected enables the user to add screen names to the displayed buddylist. The screen names added to a user's buddy list using the buddy listinterface 500 are considered to be known to the user, and are added tothe list of known people. The address book interface 400 may provide theuser with an option for preventing the addition of communicationidentifier to the list of known people when the identifier is added tothe address book. The option may prevent the addition for the identifiercurrently being added, or when the option is selected, may prevent allentered identifiers from being added to the list of known people.

[0066] Exemplary techniques for inferring known people from the actionsof the user are described in conjunction with FIGS. 6-9. Actions of theuser while reading, sending and managing e-mail can lead to theinference that the people sending and receiving that e-mail are known tothe user. In addition, the contacts of those people known to the usermay be inferred to be known directly by the user. Inferred people areadded to the list of known people after an optional user confirmation.

[0067] Referring to FIG. 6, use of an e-mail reading interface 600 canlead to the inference of people as known to the user. In using thee-mail reading interface 600, the user may perform certain actions whilereading a message that signal that the user knows the person who sentthe message. Conversely, the user may perform certain actions thatsignal that the user does not know the person who sent the message. Ifthe sender of the e-mail is inferred to be known to the user based onthese actions, the person who sent the e-mail is added to the list ofknown people.

[0068] The e-mail reading interface 600 has two major sections, 602 and604, that show the details of the message that is currently being read.Section 602 lists the header information for the message that iscurrently being read. The header information includes the sender'saddress 606, the recipient's address 608, the subject 610 of themessage, and the time 612 the message was received. The message shownwas sent to InternetAnn@aol.com with a subject of “Hi” bykg@somewhere.com at 10:24 AM on Sep. 4, 2003. Section 604 contains thebody of the message, which in this case is “So, how are you?”

[0069] To the right and below the contents of the displayed message area series of buttons 614-630 that enable activity based on the displayedmessage. For example, a “Reply” button 614 invokes an interface forwriting a reply to the sender of the displayed message. Similarly, a“Forward” button 616 invokes an interface for forwarding the displayedmessage. A “Reply All” button 618 has the same function as the “Reply”button 614, except that the reply message is addressed to all recipientsof the displayed message.

[0070] An “Add Address” button 620 adds an entry to the address book forthe sender of the displayed message. The entry includes the sender'saddress 606. A “Report Spam” button 622 sends a message to a serviceresponsible for blocking spam e-mail messages. A “Print” button 624sends the message to the printer. A “Save” button 626 expands into twooptions, one for saving the message on a host server, and one for savingthe message locally. A “Keep As New” button 628 marks the displayedmessage as never having been read, and a “Delete” button 630 mayimmediately delete the message, or it may move the message to atemporary holding place for deleted messages.

[0071] The actions of the user while interacting with the e-mail readinginterface 600 may lead to the inference that the user knows or does notknow the sender of the messages that he is reading. In cases where theuser is believed to know the sender of the message, the sender's e-mailaddress is added to the list of known people. For example, replying tothe message by clicking on the “Reply” button 614 may support theinference that the sender is known. In addition, pressing the “Forward”button 616 to forward the message may support an inference that thesender, as well as all people to which the message is forwarded, areknown. Similarly, pressing the “Reply All” button 618 may lead to aninference that the sender and all other recipients are known.

[0072] Pressing the “Add Address” button 620 to create an entry in theuser's address book for the sender of the e-mail may lead to theinference that sender is known. On the other hand, clicking on the“Report Spam” button 622 may negate an inference that the sender isknown to the user. Clicking the “Print” button 624, using the “Save”button 626, or marking the displayed message as not read with the “KeepAs New” button 628 also may support an inference that the sender isknown.

[0073] Leaving interface 600 open for a predetermined period of time(e.g., 30 seconds) is another action that may support an inference thatthe sender is know.

[0074] A number of techniques may be used to determine when a sender isinferred as known based on the above described actions. For example, asender may be inferred as known based simply on the user performing asingle one of the actions that support an inference that the sender isknown. Alternatively, or additionally, combinations of actions mayresult in the inference that the sender is known. For example, somenumber of actions greater than one may be required to add the sender tothe list of known people. Also, certain fixed combinations of actionsmay result in the addition of the sender to the list of known people.That is, certain combinations may be designated as indicating that thecommunication identifier is know and, when those combinations occur, theidentifier is added to the list of known people. For example, replyingto and saving the message may cause the sender to be added to the listof known people, but keeping the message as new and printing it may not.

[0075] As another example, each of the different possible actions mayhave an associated score indicative of how strongly the action suggeststhe identifier is known, and a certain aggregate score (a thresholdscore) may be required to add the sender to the list of known people.That is, the actions may be detected, an aggregate score may bedetermined from the associated scores, and a comparison to a thresholdscore may be made to infer whether the person is known to the user and,consequently, is added to the list of known people. An implementation ofthis technique may assign positive scores to actions supporting aninference, assign negative scores to actions negating an inference, andrequire a particular positive aggregate score before the identifier isinferred as known. Other methods of combining the actions of the user toinfer that the sender is known to the user are possible.

[0076] When replying to a message using the “Reply All” button 618, allrecipients of the message may not be known, especially when there is alarge number of people to whom the original message was carbon copied.Additional actions may be required to show that the people to whom themessage was carbon copied are known even though a message is sent tothem, which might normally lead to the inference that the people areknown. The number of people to whom the original message was carboncopied may influence the number or combinations of actions furtherneeded to add the carbon copied recipients to the list of known people.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 7, use of an e-mail writing interface 700 canlead to people being added to the list of known people. In using thee-mail writing interface 700, the user may perform certain actions whilewriting a message that will signal that the user knows the people towhom the message will be sent. If the recipients of the e-mail areinferred to be known to the user, they are added to the list of knownpeople.

[0078] The e-mail writing interface 700 contains multiple text fields702-708 that can be used to specify the different parts of the messageto be sent. For example, the user can specify the recipients of themessage using a text field 702, labeled “Send To,” and a text field 704,labeled “Copy To.” The user can also specify the subject of the messagein a “Subject” text field 706. Finally, the user can type the body ofthe message in a body text field 708.

[0079] A series of buttons 710 to 716 to the right of the text fields702-708 govern how the message specified by the text fields 702-708 isprocessed. Clicking on a “Send Now” button 710 immediately processes andsends the message to the specified recipients. Clicking on a “SendLater” button 712 processes the message for sending to its intendedrecipients at a later time. An “Address Book” button 714 will invoke anaddress book interface 400. The address book interface 400 may be usedto specify the recipients of the message. E-mail addresses from entriesin the address book can be used to populate the text fields 702 and 704that contain the recipients of the message. Clicking a “Print” button716 sends the message to the printer.

[0080] The actions of the user while using the e-mail writing interfacemay lead to the inference that the intended recipients of the messagethat is being written are known to the user. The people entered in thesetext boxes 702 and 704 will be added to the list of known people if theuser is inferred to know the people to whom the message will be sent.For example, using either the “Send Now” button or the “Send Later”button to send the message that is being written leads to the inferencethat the recipients of the message listed in text fields 702 and 704 areknown. Likewise, printing the message with the “Print” button 716 leadsto the inference that the intended recipients are known. In addition,the address book interface 400 that was invoked by the “Address Book”button 714 can be used to manually add entries to the address book,which will result in additions to the list of known people, as wasdescribed above.

[0081] If the recipients are inferred to be known, then they are addedto the list of known people. Individual actions of the user while usingthe e-mail writing interface 700 that lead to the inference that therecipients are known may cause the recipients to be added to the list ofknown people, or a combination of actions may signal that the recipientsshould be added to the list of known people, as was described above.

[0082] The e-mail reading interface 600 and the e-mail writing interface700 may also contain a button that enables the user to manually add thepeople with whom the user is communicating to the list of known peopleif the people are not added automatically in the manners describedabove. For example, clicking on the button in the e-mail readinginterface 600 would cause the sender of the message to be added to thelist of known people. Likewise, clicking on the button in the e-mailwriting interface 700 would cause the recipient of the e-mail to beadded to the list of known people.

[0083] Referring to FIG. 8, a process 800 may be used to infer peoplewithin a certain number of degrees of separation from the user as knownto the user. The degree of separation between two entities describes arelationship between those entities. Typically, the characteristics ofuser contact lists (e.g., address book, buddy list, and/or white list)are evaluated to determine the number of degrees (or hops) that arerequired to link or relate two users.

[0084] For example, recipient A may list user B in recipient A's addressbook, user B may list user C in user B's address book, and user C maylist sender D in user C's address book. Here, sender D is linked torecipient A by two degrees of separation (with user B as the firstdegree and user C as the second degree). Recipient A is related to userC by one degree of separation (user B) and user B is separated fromsender D by one degree of separation (user C). Recipient A and user B,users B and C, and user C and sender D are each respectively separatedby zero degrees of separation.

[0085] A list of contacts is maintained for the user (802). The list ofcontacts may be any personally maintained list or lists, for example, anaddress book, a buddy list for instant messaging, and/or a white list.The rest of process 800 will be described using an address book as anexample of a list of contacts. The contacts in the user's address bookare added to the user's list of known people (804).

[0086] Next, the contacts linked to the user (i.e., up to a desireddegree of separation) are identified and added to the user's list ofknown people. To do so, the address books of each contact in the user'saddress book are accessed (806). These address books are not normallyconfigured for direct accessed by the user. That is, the user does notnormally have access to other user's address books such as the addressbooks of the contacts in the user's address book (the user's addressbook is configured for direct access by the user). The other users'address books typically include communication identifiers selected bythe other users.

[0087] The contacts in the user's contacts' address books (i.e., thecontacts separated by one degree) then are added to the list of knownpeople (808). If another degree of separation is desired (810), thedegree of separation is incremented (812) such that the address books ofthe contacts that are separated from the user by one degree are accessed(806) and the contacts in those address books are added to the list ofknown people list (808). When a contact is added to the list of knownpeople list, the contact's degree of separation from the user also maybe added. The addition of contacts continues until the desired degree ofseparation is reached (810). Once the desired degree of separation hasbeen reached, all of the contacts within that desired degree ofseparation from the user have been inferred as known to the user (814).

[0088] The desired degrees of separation may be a system parameter or,in some implementations, the user may be provided the user with theability to set the desired degrees of separation. For example, the usermay be provided with an interface that allows the user to decide whetherdegrees of separation will be used, and, if so, how many degrees shouldbe used. Alternatively, the desired degrees of separation may be both asystem parameter and able to be set by the user. For example, the systemmay include a default degrees of separation, which can be adjusted bythe user if he or she so desires.

[0089] Process 800 may result in the list of known people not beingupdated when any users related to the intended user update their contactlists. That is, if a user related to the intended user adds a contact tothe user's contact list, the new contact may not be reflected in theintended user's list of known people. This situation may not be overlydetrimental, particularly in implementations where the list of knownpeople is used as a white list to exempt certain e-mails from spamfiltering. However, repeating process 800 on a periodic or a periodicbasis may mitigate this situation. Another manner of mitigating thissituation is to use an update system in which changes to contact listsare tracked and lists of known people are updated accordingly in anincremental fashion or by triggering an update or re-initiation ofprocess 800 when an update occurs.

[0090] Referring to FIG. 9, using an e-mail managing interface 900 mayresult in additions to the list of known people. The actions of the userwhile interacting with the e-mail managing interface 900 may lead to theinference that certain people are known to the user. Conversely, theuser may perform certain actions that signal that the user does not knowcertain people. If people are inferred as known to the user from theseactions, the people are added to the list of known people.

[0091] Two main components of the e-mail managing interface 900 are thefolder list 902 and the message list 904. The folder list 902 containsthe different folders into which messages can be filed. When a folder isselected from the folder list 902, its contents are listed in themessage list 904. In this case, the folder called “New” has beenselected from the folder list 902, and its contents are listed in themessage list 904. Drop down selection box 906 allows for the filteringof the messages shown in the message list 904 based on their sender. Inthis case, “Everyone” is chosen in the selection box 906, so allmessages in the “New” folder are shown in the message list 904. Theseinclude a message 908 from kg@somewhere.com, and a message 910 fromnoone@fr.com, both sent on Sep. 4, 2003. Clicking and dragging a messagefrom the message list 904 to the folder list 902 with the mouse filesthat message in the folder whose name is under the current position ofthe mouse, thus removing the message from the folder selected in thefolder list 902.

[0092] A series of buttons below the message list 904 allow the user towork with the messages in the message list 904. For example, a “Read”button 912 will create an e-mail reading interface 600 for the messageselected in the message list 904. Clicking on a “Save” button 914 willsave the message selected in the message list 904, either to the harddrive of the local machine or to a remote server. A “Keep As New” button916 will mark the selected message as never having been read. Clickingon a “Report Spam” button 918 will send a message to a serviceresponsible for blocking spam messages with regards to the messageselected in the message list 904. A “Delete” button 920 eitherimmediately deletes the selected message or temporarily moves theselected message to a holding place for deleted messages.

[0093] The user's actions while using folders, messages, and buttonspresent in the e-mail managing interface 900 may result in the additionof people to the list of known people. Moving a message between thedifferent folders of the folder list 902 may lead to the inference thatthe sender or recipients of the message are known. For example, draggingmessage 908 from the “New” folder to another folder, except for a spamor delete folder, may result in the inference that the sender of messageis known to the user. Opening a message with the “Read” button 912 maysupport an inference that the sender of the message is known. Pressingthe “Save” button 914 or the “Keep As New” button 916 also may result inthe inference that the sender of the message is known to the user. Onthe other hand, use of the “Report Spam” button 918 and the “Delete”button 920 may negate an inference that the senders or recipients areknown to the user. Similar to what was described above with respect toFIG. 6, individual actions or a combination of actions when using thee-mail managing interface 900 may lead to the inference that people areknown to the user. Those people that are inferred to be known to theuser are added to the list of known people after an optionalconfirmation by the user.

[0094]FIGS. 10-12 illustrate exemplary uses of the list of known peoplein controlling aspects of the user's communication. The list of knownpeople can be used to control aspects of the user's communication using,for example, an e-mail or instant messaging client.

[0095] Referring to FIG. 10, the list of known people can be used tocontrol the e-mail messages displayed on an e-mail managing interface900. The e-mail managing interface contains a folder list 902 into whichmessages can be filed. When a folder is selected from the folder list902, its contents are listed in the message list 904. In this case, thefolder called “New” has been selected from the folder list 902, and itscontents are listed in the message list 904.

[0096] Drop down selection box 906 allows for the filtering of themessages shown in the message list 904 based on their sender. In thiscase, the option “People I Know” has been selected from the selectionbox 906. This causes the displayed messages to be filtered against thelist of known people for the user. Messages from people that are in thelist of known people are displayed in the message list 904, whilemessages from senders that are not in the list of known people do notappear in the message list 904.

[0097] For example, the message list 904 from FIG. 9, which alsodisplayed the messages in the “New” folder, had two messages: message908 from kg@somewhere.com and message 910 from noone@fr.com. The e-mailaddress kg@somewhere.com is in the list of known people for the user,while noone@fr.com is not. When “People I Know” is selected from theselection box 906, message 910 is filtered out from the set of messagesshown to the user in the message list 904. The only message that isdisplayed is message 908 from kg@somewhere.com. Therefore, the list ofknown senders was used to limit the e-mail messages shown to the user toonly those coming from people on the list.

[0098] Referring to FIG. 11, the list of known people can be used tocontrol the e-mail messages displayed on an e-mail managing interface900 in the opposite manner as was done with respect to FIG. 10. Thee-mail managing interface contains a folder list 902 into which messagescan be filed. When a folder is selected from the folder list 902, itscontents are listed in the message list 904. In this case, the foldercalled “New” has been selected from the folder list 902, and itscontents are listed in the message list 904.

[0099] Drop down selection box 906 allows for the filtering of themessages shown in the message list 904 based on their sender. In thiscase, the option “Unknown Senders” has been selected from the selectionbox 906. This causes the displayed messages to be filtered against thelist of known people for the user in the opposite manner as was donewith respect to FIG. 10. In other words, messages from people that arenot in the list of known people are displayed in the message list 904,while messages from senders that are in the list of known people do notappear in the message list 904.

[0100] For example, the message list 904 from FIG. 9, which also showedthe messages in the “New” folder, had two messages: message 908 fromkg@somewhere.com and message 910 from noone@fr.com. The e-mail addresskg@somewhere.com is in the list of known people, while noone@fr.com isnot. When “Unknown Senders” is selected from the selection box 906,message 908 is filtered out from the set of messages shown to the userin the message list 904. The only message that is displayed is message910 from noone@fr.com. Therefore, the list of known senders is used tolimit the e-mail messages shown to the user to only those coming frompeople not on the list.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 12, an e-mail control interface 1200 enablesfurther control over a user's e-mail messages based on the list of knownpeople. The e-mail control interface contains a user selection box 1202.The user to which the controls specified in the e-mail control interface1200 will apply is selected with user selection box 1202. A series ofoptions 1204-1224 provide for different manners of filtering receivede-mail.

[0102] Options 1204-1212 allow the user to define the senders from whomthe selected user will receive e-mail. Option 1204 enables the user toreceive e-mail from all senders. Selecting option 1204 will cause theselected user to receive e-mail from anyone, regardless of whether theyappear on the list of known people. Option 1206 enables the user toreceive e-mail only from America Online (AOL) members. Selecting option1206 will cause the selected user to receive e-mail messages only fromcustomers of the America Online internet service provider, while allother messages are blocked. Option 1208 enables the user to receivee-mail only from known people. Selecting option 1208 causes the selecteduser's e-mail to be filtered against the list of known people. Messagesfrom people appearing on the list are accepted, while all other messagesare blocked.

[0103] Option 1210 enables the user to block e-mail from all senders.Selecting this option 1210 will cause all of the e-mail messagesaddressed to the selected user to be blocked. Option 1212 enables theuser to use a custom sender list to determine what mail is received. Thecustom sender list contains a white list and a black list. Messages fromthose people appearing on the white list are shown to the user, whilemessages from people appearing on the black list are blocked from theuser. Options 1204-1212 may be mutually exclusive.

[0104] Option 1214 enables blocking any e-mail messages containingpictures or files. Selection of option 1214 causes all messagescontaining pictures or files to be blocked. Options 1216 and 1218 allowthe user to define what happens to blocked messages. Option 1216 enablespermanently deleting blocked messages. Selecting option 1216 causes allblocked messages to be deleted immediately, leaving no opportunity forthe user to view them. Option 1218 enables delivery of blocked messagesto a folder designated for spam. Selecting option 1218 causes blockedmessages to be placed in the folder designated for spam. The user hasthe option of viewing these messages after they have been placed in thespam folder. A third option (not shown) may cause the blocked messagesto be maintained in a temporary holding folder. The messages stored inthe temporary holding folder may be deleted after a certain amount oftime that may be selected by the user. Options 1216, 1218, and the thirdoption are mutually exclusive.

[0105] Options 1220-1224 control what mail is received by the userselected in the selection box 1202. Option 1220 enables filtering of theincoming e-mail messages with a spam filter. Selecting this option 1220will cause a user's e-mail messages to be filtered based on whether ornot the messages are spam messages or not. The list of known people maybe used by the spam filter when determining if a message is a spammessage. For example, the spam filter could use the list of known peopleas a white list when determining which messages to keep. Messages frompeople on the white list may be accepted, while messages from peoplethat are not on the list are rejected. Alternatively, the white list maybe used to exempt communications from people on the white list from spamfiltering, while communications from people not on the white list aresubjected to spam filtering. As another example, the spam filter coulduse the list of known people to assign a spam score to incomingmessages. Messages from people that are not on the list of known peoplemay receive a higher spam score than those messages from people on thelist. Those messages that are determined to be spam are delivered to theuser's spam mailbox, and those messages that are not spam are deliveredto the user's main mailbox.

[0106] Option 1222 enables filtering the incoming e-mail messages basedon whether they contain one or more clickable hyperlinks or uniformresource locators (URLs). If this option 1222 is selected, messages withclickable URLs are delivered to the user's spam folder, and thosemessages that do not are delivered to the user's main mailbox. A secondoption (not shown) for handling messages with clickable URLs enablesdelivering messages with URLs directed to inappropriate or parentallycontrolled content to the user's spam folder and delivering all othermessages to the user's main mailbox. Option 1224 enables filtering ofthe user's incoming e-mail messages based on whether they contain any ofthe words contained in a custom word list. If this option 1224 isselected, messages that contain words from the custom word list aredelivered to the user's spam folder, and those messages that do not aredelivered to the user's main mailbox.

[0107] The list of known people may be used in conjunction with thefiltering performed by options 1222 and 1224 by exempting messages fromknown people from these controls. In other words, messages meeting thecriteria indicated by options 1222 and 1224, when selected, may be sentto a spam folder, except for when the sender of the message is on theknown list. For example, a message with a URL may be received. Normally,when option 1222 is selected, the message with the URL is place in aspam folder. When the message with the URL is from a known person,however, the message is not sent to the spam folder, but rather isdelivered as normal.

[0108] A save button 1226 and a cancel button 1228 are also present onthe e-mail control interface 1200. The save button 1226 saves anychanges made to the options 1204-1224 for the user selected in theselection box 1202, while the cancel button 1228 discards any changesthat have been made and restores the options to their previous settings.

[0109] In addition to the uses of the list of known people discussedwith respect to FIGS. 10-12, there are other uses related to a user'scommunications with an instant messaging client. For example, the IMscreen names of known people may be used to restrict instant messages orchat requests to only those people who the user knows. The IM screennames of known people also may be used to restrict who can view presenceinformation of the user to those people the user knows. That is, otherusers may be restricted from viewing whether the user is online (i.e.,logged into the IM system) unless the other users are people the userknows. Referring again to FIG. 5, presence information for“randomcontact2” is shown because “InternetAnn” is on the list of knownpeople for “randomcontact2.” Other people that do not have “InternetAnn”on their list of known people do not appear in the buddy list interface500 because “InternetAnn” is restricted from viewing their presenceinformation.

[0110] The list of known people also may be used to restrict displays ofonline presence information more generally. FIGS. 13, 14 and 15 showadditional environments in which online presence information can berestricted using the list of known people.

[0111] Referring to FIG. 13, some services, such as America Online,allow users to search for other members. The list of members matchingthe users search criteria includes indications as to whether a member isonline. As shown, an interface 1300 includes a window 1310 that displayssearch results for a person's search criteria (e.g., members who haveJohn Doe somewhere in their profile). The search results include a listof members matching the search criteria. The results include the screenname, the member name, and the location of each member matching thecriteria. An icon 1314 provides online presence information. Icon 1314is displayed in window 1310 next to members who are currently online.

[0112] Referring to FIG. 14, some services such as America Onlinedisplay online presence information in a user's member profile. A user'smember profile may be displayed as the result of selecting a member fromsearch results such as those shown in FIG. 13, or, for example, themember profile may be invoked by a user when the user comes across ascreen name while using a communication service such chat or messageboards. Other manners manner of invoking the member profile may beavailable depending on the service.

[0113] When a user invokes another user's member profile, an interface1400 is provided. The interface includes the screen name 1402 of theuser whose profile is being shown. Interface 1400 also includes a numberof buttons 1404 that allow the invoking user to interact with the userwhose profile is being shown. Interface 1400 also has an area 1406 thatprovides online presence information. In the exemplary profileillustrated, the member is currently online an in the chat room“louisianam4m.” Area 1406 indicates that the member is not online whenthe member is not online.

[0114] Referring to FIG. 15, some instant messaging and other onlineservices provide web pages that display online presence information. Asshown, a web browser 1500 displays a search page 1502 for ICQ in which aperson can search profiles of ICQ users. Profiles 1510 and 1520 areshown as a result of a search using the criteria “John Doe” anywhere inthe profile. Icons 1512 and 1522, which are part of profiles 1510 and1520 respectively, provide online presence information. Icons 1512 and1522 are shown in one color when the user is online and in a differentcolor when the user is not online.

[0115] In any of these environments, the online presence information maybe restricted based on the list of known people. The online presenceinformation may be restricted such that only some or all of the peopleknown to a user may view the user's online presence information. Forinstance, icon 1314 may be absent when the person viewing the searchresults is not a person known to the user whose screen name is“Hotxjock28.” Likewise, area 1406 may not provide any online presenceinformation when the person viewing the profile is not known to the userwhose screen name is “Hotxjock28.” Lastly, icon 1512 or 1522 mayindicate the user is not online, or indicate that the online presenceinformation is unavailable, when the person viewing the profile 1510 or1520 is not known to the user whose profile information is shown.

[0116] Further, the online presence information may be restricted or notprovided to a potential receiver of the online presence information whenthe potential receiver requests the online presence information throughan application such as an instant messaging application, or by virtue ofdisplaying a web page, member profile, or member search result. In someenvironments that provide online presence information, the informationmay be provided in response to a request to receive the online presenceinformation. In such environments, when the request is received, adetermination as to whether the online presence information iscommunicated may be based on whether the potential receiver is includedin the list of known people. The online presence information may berestricted or not provided to the potential receiver when the potentialreceiver is not included in the list.

[0117] In other implementations, the online presence information may berestricted or not provided to a potential receiver of the onlinepresence information absent a request for the online presenceinformation. In some environments, online presence information may bebroadcast generally to users. Certain users may be excluded from thebroadcast of online presence information when those users are not on thelist of people known to the user.

[0118] Another use of the list of known people may include filtering outcommunications with questionable content sent to teens or youngerindividuals when the communication is from someone unknown to the teenor younger individual. Many times, inappropriate (e.g., pornographic)communications such as e-mail is sent to teens or younger individuals.There may be certain indicia that a communication is inappropriate, orthat it may lead to inappropriate content. One such indicia, forinstance, is the presence of a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) located inthe body of an e-mail. Other indicia may include certain words orphrases, such as vulgar or lewd words, included in the communication.Such indicia may be a stronger indicator that the communication isinappropriate when the e-mail is from someone unknown to the teen oryoung adult.

[0119] Some Internet Service Providers (ISPs), e.g. America Online, Inc.(AOL), allow a master account owner to designate associated accounts asteen or child accounts. Indicia of inappropriate communications, alongwith the list of known people, can be used to filter out potentiallyinappropriate content sent to a teen or child account.

[0120]FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a process 1600 for filteringcommunications sent to a teen or child account. A list of people knownto the user of the teen or child account is maintained for example,using the techniques described above (1605). When a communication sentto the teen or child account is received (1610), the sender of thecommunication is determined (1615). The communication may include, forexample, an e-mail or an instant message.

[0121] A determination also is made as to whether the communicationcontains indicia that the communication is inappropriate for the user ofthe teen or child account (1620). As described above, such indicia mayinclude a URL located in the body of the communication and/or certainwords being included in the body of the communication.

[0122] When the communication contains such indicia and the sender isnot on the list of known people, the communication is filtered (1625).Filtering may include blocking or deleting the communication.Alternatively, or additionally, filtering may include placing thecommunication in a secured place that the master account owner canaccess, but the teen or child user can not. For example, thecommunications may be placed in a secure spam folder. The spam foldermay be secured, for example, by preventing the teen or child accountuser from seeing the folder or by password protecting the folder.

[0123] Thus, for example, emails that contain URLs or certain words orphrases and that are sent to a teen or child account by someone notknown to the teen or child (i.e., someone not on the list of knownpeople) may be automatically deleted or blocked. Alternatively, suche-mails may be sent to a spam folder. When the spam folder is designedto be locked from teens or younger adults (e.g., by preventing them fromseeing the folder or requiring a password to access the folder), thiscan potentially prevent them from being exposed to inappropriatecontent.

[0124] The techniques described above are not limited to any particularhardware or software configuration. Rather, they may be implementedusing hardware, software, or a combination of both. The methods andprocesses described may be implemented as computer programs that areexecuted on programmable computers comprising at least one processor andat least one data storage system. The programs may be implemented in ahigh-level programming language and may also be implemented in assemblyor other lower level languages, if desired.

[0125] Any such program will typically be stored on a computer-usablestorage medium or device (e.g., CD-Rom, RAM, or magnetic disk). Whenread into the processor of the computer and executed, the instructionsof the program cause the programmable computer to carry out the variousoperations described above.

[0126] A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, itwill be understood that various modifications may be made. Accordingly,implementations other than those specifically described are within thescope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: maintaining a list of peopleassociated with a user; inferring that a person is associated with theuser based, at least in part, on a combination of two or more useractions, each of which separately support an inference that the personis associated with the user; adding the inferred person to the list; andusing the list to control aspects of communications between the user andothers based on whether the others are included on the list.
 2. Themethod of claim 1 wherein inferring comprises detecting positive useractions related to e-mail communications from the person as at least oneof the two or more actions.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein thepositive actions include sending an e-mail to the person.
 4. The methodof claim 2 wherein the positive actions include replying to, forwarding,saving, or printing an e-mail received from the person.
 5. The method ofclaim 2 wherein the positive actions include moving an e-mail from afirst folder to a second folder.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein thefirst folder is an inbox folder and the second folder is a folder otherthan a delete folder or a spam folder.
 7. The method of claim 2 whereinthe positive action includes maintaining an e-mail from the person in anopen state for a predetermined period of time.
 8. The method of claim 1wherein inferring comprises detecting a communication between the userand the person as at least one of the two or more actions.
 9. The methodof claim 8 wherein the communication is an instant messagingcommunication.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprising inferringthat a person is associated with the user based, at least in part, onindicia other than actions performed by the user, wherein inferringbased on indicia other than actions performed by the user comprises:accessing a contact list of the user to determine a first contact on theuser's contact list; and accessing a contact list of the first contactto determine a second contact on the first contact's contact list. 11.The method of claim 1 wherein inferring comprises detecting user actionsthat mitigate against factors that otherwise are used to infer a personis associated with the user.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein the useractions comprise the user taking steps to report a communication fromthe person as spam.
 13. The method of claim 11 wherein the user actionscomprise the user taking steps to add a person to a blacklist.
 14. Themethod of claim 11 wherein the user actions comprise the user takingsteps to move a communication from the person to at least one of a spamfolder or a delete folder.
 15. The method of claim 1 wherein peopleassociated with the user are people not distrusted by the user.
 16. Themethod of claim 15 wherein using the list comprises using the list as awhite list such that communications received from people on the list areexempt from spam filtering.
 17. The method of claim 1 wherein using thelist comprises using the list to restrict received communications tothose communications from people on the list.
 18. The method of claim 17wherein the communications are e-mails.
 19. The method of claim 17wherein the communications are instant messages.
 20. The method of claim1 wherein people associated with the user are people known to the user.21. The method of claim 20 wherein using the list comprises using thelist to filter a display of e-mail such that e-mails from people on thelist are shown on the display and e-mails from people not on the listare absent from the display.
 22. The method of claim 20 wherein usingthe list comprises using the list to filter a display of e-mail suchthat e-mails from people not on the list are shown on the display ande-mails from people on the list are absent from the display.
 23. Themethod of claim 1 wherein using the list comprises using the list torestrict which instant messaging interfaces display an online presenceof the user to those instant messaging interfaces associated with peopleon the list.
 24. The method of claim 1 wherein using the list comprisesusing the list as a white list operating in conjunction with parentalcontrols to filter communications from people not on the list when thecommunications include indicia that the content of the communication isinappropriate for a teen or child account user.
 25. The method of claim24 wherein filtering communications comprises blocking thecommunications from people not on the list when the communicationsinclude indicia that the content of the communication is inappropriatefor a teen or child account user.
 26. The method of claim 24 whereinfiltering communications comprises placing communications from peoplenot on the list in a spam folder the communications include indicia thatthe content of the communication is inappropriate for a teen or childaccount user.
 27. The method of claim 26 wherein the spam folder islocked from the teen or child account user.
 28. The method of claim 24wherein the communications are e-mails.
 29. The method of claim 1wherein each of the two or more actions has an associated score andwherein inferring comprises: detecting the two or more actions;determining an aggregate score from the scores associated with the twoor more actions; and comparing the aggregate score to a threshold scoreto infer whether the person is known to the user.
 30. The method ofclaim 29 wherein the scores associated with the two or more actionsinclude positive scores for actions that support an inference that theperson is known to the user and negative scores for actions that negatean inference that the person is known to the user.
 31. The method ofclaim 1 wherein inferring comprises: detecting the two or more actions;determining whether the two or more actions are a combination of actionsthat is designated as indicating that the person is known to the user.32. A computer usable medium have a computer program embodied thereon,wherein the computer program comprises instructions for causing acomputer to perform the following operations: maintain a list of peopleassociated with a user; infer that a person is associated with the userbased, at least in part, on a combination of two or more user actions,each of which separately support an inference that the person isassociated with the user; add the inferred person to the list; and usethe list to control aspects of communications between the user andothers based on whether the others are included on the list.
 33. Themedium of claim 32 wherein, to infer, the computer program furthercomprises instructions for causing a computer to detect positive useractions related to e-mail communications from the person as at least oneof the two or more actions.
 34. The medium of claim 33 wherein thepositive actions include sending an e-mail to the person.
 35. The mediumof claim 33 wherein the positive actions include replying to,forwarding, saving, or printing an e-mail received from the person. 36.The medium of claim 33 wherein the positive actions include moving ane-mail from a first folder to a second folder.
 37. The medium of claim36 wherein the first folder is an inbox folder and the second folder isa folder other than a delete folder or a spam folder.
 38. The medium ofclaim 33 wherein the positive action includes maintaining an e-mail fromthe person in an open state for a predetermined period of time.
 39. Themedium of claim 32 wherein, to infer, the computer program furthercomprises instructions for causing a computer to detect a communicationbetween the user and the person as at least one of the two or moreactions.
 40. The medium of claim 39 wherein the communication is aninstant messaging communication.
 41. The medium of claim 32 wherein thecomputer program further comprises instructions for causing a computerto infer that a person is associated with the user based, at least inpart, on indicia other than actions performed by the user, whereininferring based on indicia other than actions performed by the usercomprises: accessing a contact list of the user to determine a firstcontact on the user's contact list; and accessing a contact list of thefirst contact to determine a second contact on the first contact'scontact list.
 42. The medium of claim 32 wherein, to infer, the computerprogram further comprises instructions for causing a computer to detectuser actions that mitigate against factors that otherwise are used toinfer a person is associated with the user.
 43. The medium of claim 42wherein the user actions comprise the user taking steps to report acommunication from the person as spam.
 44. The medium of claim 42wherein the user actions comprise the user taking steps to add a personto a blacklist.
 45. The medium of claim 42 wherein the user actionscomprise the user taking steps to move a communication from the personto at least one of a spam folder or a delete folder.
 46. The medium ofclaim 32 wherein people associated with the user are people notdistrusted by the user.
 47. The medium of claim 46 wherein, to use thelist, the computer program further comprises instructions for causing acomputer to use the list as a white list such that communicationsreceived from people on the list are exempt from spam filtering.
 48. Themedium of claim 32 wherein, to use the list, the computer programfurther comprises instructions for causing a computer to use the list torestrict received communications to those communications from people onthe list.
 49. The medium of claim 48 wherein the communications aree-mails.
 50. The medium of claim 48 wherein the communications areinstant messages.
 51. The medium of claim 32 wherein people associatedwith the user are people known to the user.
 52. The medium of claim 51wherein, to use the list, the computer program further comprisesinstructions for causing a computer to use the list to filter a displayof e-mail such that e-mails from people on the list are shown on thedisplay and e-mails from people not on the list are absent from thedisplay.
 53. The medium of claim 51 wherein, to use the list, thecomputer program further comprises instructions for causing a computerto use the list to filter a display of e-mail such that e-mails frompeople not on the list are shown on the display and e-mails from peopleon the list are absent from the display.
 54. The medium of claim 32wherein, to use the list, the computer program further comprisesinstructions for causing a computer to use the list to restrict whichinstant messaging interfaces display an online presence of the user tothose instant messaging interfaces associated with people on the list.55. The medium of claim 32 wherein, to use the list, the computerprogram further comprises instructions for causing a computer to use thelist as a white list operating in conjunction with parental controls tofilter communications from people not on the list when thecommunications include indicia that the content of the communication isinappropriate for a teen or child account user.
 56. The medium of claim55 wherein, to filter communications, the computer program furthercomprises instructions for causing a computer to block thecommunications from people not on the list when the communicationsinclude indicia that the content of the communication is inappropriatefor a teen or child account user.
 57. The medium of claim 55 wherein, tofilter communications, the computer program further comprisesinstructions for causing a computer to place communications from peoplenot on the list in a spam folder the communications include indicia thatthe content of the communication is inappropriate for a teen or childaccount user.
 58. The medium of claim 57 wherein the spam folder islocked from the teen or child account user.
 59. The medium of claim 55wherein the communications are e-mails.
 60. The medium of claim 32wherein each of the two or more actions has an associated score andwherein, to infer, the computer program further comprises instructionsfor causing a computer to: detect the two or more actions; determine anaggregate score from the scores associated with the two or more actions;and compare the aggregate score to a threshold score to infer whetherthe person is known to the user.
 61. The medium of claim 60 wherein thescores associated with the two or more actions include positive scoresfor actions that support an inference that the person is known to theuser and negative scores for actions that negate an inference that theperson is known to the user.
 62. The medium of claim 32 wherein, toinfer, the computer program further comprises instructions for causing acomputer to: detect the two or more actions; determine whether the twoor more actions are a combination of actions that is designated asindicating that the person is known to the user.
 63. An apparatuscomprising: means for maintaining a list of people associated with auser; means for inferring that a person is associated with the userbased, at least in part, on a combination of two or more user actions,each of which separately support an inference that the person isassociated with the user; means for adding the inferred person to thelist; and means for using the list to control aspects of communicationsbetween the user and others based on whether the others are included onthe list.